Does this budget sound okay?

[BlxckDay]

Hello,

After all bills are paid including food and petrol we have £815ish left for a family of four (2a, 3 year old and 1 year old) so here's what I was thinking

Emergencies: £175
Birthdays & Chrismas: £50
Days out & Activities: £250

What should I do with the £340, up the emergencies to £215 and save the rest?

Save it all.

Have you included haircuts, new clothes/shoes, dentist anywhere?

Yes, save.

Have you got pensions sorted? It is tax efficient to put a bit more into pensions, but of course then you can’t get to it if you need it.

We have a savings account for our kids’ training/university funds - if they don’t go to uni it will go towards their house deposit or first car.

Have honestly got all your annual costs, insurances and boiler service, car MOT, new tyres and all the other one off annual payments ?

I d be saving as much as as possible into savings and reassess in a year, once the actual costs are known

I was going to use the £300/340 for these when they pop us as we don't get haircuts & clothes every month but might be best if I separate another £50-£100 for these costs, thank you.

Savings and pension

Is £50 a month enough for birthdays and Christmas, that's only £600. Holidays/breaks?

We only buy for immediate family, pretty much the kids and they're really young at the moment so don't spend loads yet.

Can't afford holidays and breaks just yet.

You will probably find that things crop up every month that need paying for that you haven't expected , happens to us all the time 😩

What’s the difference between savings and emergencies, when it comes down to it? If you don’t need to spend the money and don’t already have a decent savings cushion, I would put it in a savings account and use when needed.